Daniel Cormier pushes for Pat Barry fight at Nov. 3 Strikeforce event

With Frank Mir injured and Matt Mitrione unwilling to take the fight, Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier appears to be taking charge of his own future.

With his Nov. 3 Strikeforce headliner a little more than a month away, Cormier is publicly campaigning for an opponent, and it’s sticking with the Strikeforce-vs.-UFC theme.

Cormier (10-0 MMA, 4-0 SF) wants Pat Barry (7-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC).

Cormier, the Strikeforce world heavyweight grand prix winner, has one more fight in the organization before his previously announced move to the UFC. The bout headlines a Nov. 3 event at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, and it airs on Showtime.

Cormier, a former standout wrestler at Oklahoma State University, went to Twitter to campaign UFC President Dana White for the Barry fight. With Cormier assuming Fabricio Werdum is unavailable, he mentioned Barry, whom fans also have pushed in recent weeks.

“@danawhite offer the fight to @HypeOrDie he’s from Louisiana like me,” he wrote. “He will take the fight. Let’s do it!”

He then encouraged fans to retweet the plea.

Barry, a noted kickboxer, has lost three of his past four fights, all in the UFC. However, six of his seven career wins have come via knockout, and his crowd-pleasing style has made him one of the better-known heavyweights in the sport.

Cormier, meanwhile, is undefeated since his move from amateur wrestling, where he twice represented the U.S. Olympic team, to MMA in 2009. Most recently, he’s defeated a host of notables under the Strikeforce banner, including Jeff Monson, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silvs and Josh Barnett. He now ranks among the world’s top five in his division.

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